Both Elon Musk and J.K. Rowling have been named in a new criminal complaint filed by recently-crowned Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif.
Khelif is suing the X (Twitter) owner and the Harry Potter author for “acts of aggravated cyber harassment,” according to a new report published by Variety on Tuesday afternoon.
As you may recall, Khelif — who won the gold medal in women’s boxing in the 66-kilogram weight division at the Paris Olympics this summer — was the recipient of TONS of online hate throughout the Games this year. That hate came about from a torrent of digital abuse over her perceived gender. Khelif was born female and does not identify as transgender or intersex, but people on X and other platforms were ruthless and relentless in their incorrect accusations that she was a man who was unfairly beating up other women during the competition.
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The attacks online were made worse when high-profile public figures jumped into the fray. Rowling specifically accused the boxer of being a man in one X post, and said Khelif was “enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head” following her bout with Italian boxer Angela Carini. In another baseless post, high-profile swimmer Riley Gaines claimed that “men don’t belong in women’s sports.” To that, Musk re-posted the message with his follow-up, “absolutely.” Even Donald Trump posted online that he would “protect women’s sports” regarding the hubbub.
And now, Khelif wants redress for the torrent of hate that she faced. Variety received a statement from the Paris Prosecutor’s Office, specifically via their National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred, which confirmed it had received Khelif’s legal complaint:
“On Aug. 13, (The National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred) contacted the OCLCH (Central Office for the Fight Against Crimes Against Humanity and Hate Crimes) to conduct an investigation into the counts of cyber harassment due to gender, public insult because of gender, public incitement to discrimination and public insult because of origin.”
Based on French law, because the lawsuit was filed against X itself — as a business entity, it is defined as “unknown persons” — the prosecution has “all the latitude to be able to investigate against all people” on the matter, per that organization. That means lawyers can go after people like Musk, Gaines, Trump, and Rowling who posted hateful messages under their own accounts or under pseudonyms. Khelif’s attorney, Nabil Boudi, stated:
“J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others. Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution. What we’re asking is that the prosecution investigates not only these people but whoever it feels necessary. If the case goes to court, they will stand trial.”
The lawsuit was filed in France, as noted, but Boudi claimed that it “could target personalities overseas,” too. Musk, Trump, Gaines, and Rowling are all obviously not French, so this lawsuit would have to do that considering that it names them specifically.
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Variety also spoke to Khelif’s boxing coach with Team Algeria, Pedro Diaz. He told the outlet that the cyber bullying “incredibly affected her… and everyone around her.” Diaz added:
“The first time she fought in the Olympics, there was this crazy storm outside of the ring. I had never seen anything so disgusting in my life.”
And now, it seems as though that storm may be adjudicated in court. Thoughts, y’all? Share ’em (below)…
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